Cognitive: Students will understand the courage it takes to stand up to bullies and the crowd. They will recognize times they have been courageous. They will recognize courageous acts by real and fictional people. Affective: Students will be proud of Brendan and want to be like him. They will want to show courage and stand up for what is right. Behavioral: Students will describe examples of courage in themselves and in well-known others. They will demonstrate courageous behavior in role-play.
Ask for a student volunteer to recount the story of “Brendan and the Bullies.” Allow other volunteers to fill in any important points that might have been left out.
Write on the board once more:
“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not be false to any man.”
Ask students if they think Brendan was true to his best self—the real him—in standing up to the bullies. Affirm that he was. Because he was true to his real self, he felt power and joy afterward, as well as the positive regard of other students and the gratitude of his friends.
Ask: What if Brendan had run away? How would he feel about himself?
Ask students if they think Brendan showed courage. Then ask them if they know what courage is. Do they believe that it means never being afraid? Explain that, on the contrary, courage means doing what is right, even if a person does feel afraid. People who feel no fear are not normal. Mention that if they ever interviewed a soldier, most honest soldiers will admit that they were frightened in battle, but they did what they had to do anyway. That is courage.
Note that Brendan showed both physical and social courage. Ask students what risks Brendan was taking. What might have happened to him? Affirm that the bullies might have ganged up on him and beat him up. Or they might have mocked him. In either case, Brendan would have suffered. However, Brendan got total victory. All the rest of the students were on his side, and the bullies backed down. They probably would think twice before bothering brave Brendan again!
Ask students to do the Reflection Exercise: “Courageous as a Lion—Me!”.
Class Session 2
Ask students to review “Brendan and the Bullies” and do the Questions for Reflection.
Next, divide students up into small groups and ask them to come up with a role-play to depict someone showing courage in scenarios you will assign group-by-group and to be prepared to present it to the rest of the class. Enjoy!
1. Only one person in a small group is strongly against smoking. The other kids have a pack of cigarettes and are trying to urge him or her to try one. He or she resists.
2. Everyone is gossiping about someone who isn’t present. One person in the group is a good friend of the person they are gossiping about. He or she decides to speak up for the friend.
3. The principal is absolutely furious at a group of kids he thinks spray-painted a wall in the school. They are innocent, though. He tells them if they even say one word they will be suspended. They decide to tell him the truth anyway.
4. Myra shoplifted a soda from the local store. The store owner thinks Tilly did it, and he grabs Tilly by the collar and hauls her into his store, saying he is going to call the police. Other friends convince Myra to confess to what she did so that Tilly doesn’t get in trouble. Myra goes in to face the store owner.
5. The crowd is saying that anyone who gets good grades is a nerd and should be rejected. Someone asks Terry what he got on his report card. Terry got all As. He decides that he is proud of his accomplishment, not ashamed, and he tells the crowd what he got on his report card.
Lesson Objectives
Cognitive: Students will understand the courage it takes to stand up to bullies and the crowd. They will recognize times they have been courageous. They will recognize courageous acts by real and fictional people.
Affective: Students will be proud of Brendan and want to be like him. They will want to show courage and stand up for what is right.
Behavioral: Students will describe examples of courage in themselves and in well-known others. They will demonstrate courageous behavior in role-play.
Ask for a student volunteer to recount the story of “Brendan and the Bullies.” Allow other volunteers to fill in any important points that might have been left out.
Write on the board once more:
“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not be false to any man.”
Ask students if they think Brendan was true to his best self—the real him—in standing up to the bullies. Affirm that he was. Because he was true to his real self, he felt power and joy afterward, as well as the positive regard of other students and the gratitude of his friends.
Ask: What if Brendan had run away? How would he feel about himself?
Ask students if they think Brendan showed courage. Then ask them if they know what courage is. Do they believe that it means never being afraid? Explain that, on the contrary, courage means doing what is right, even if a person does feel afraid. People who feel no fear are not normal. Mention that if they ever interviewed a soldier, most honest soldiers will admit that they were frightened in battle, but they did what they had to do anyway. That is courage.
Note that Brendan showed both physical and social courage. Ask students what risks Brendan was taking. What might have happened to him? Affirm that the bullies might have ganged up on him and beat him up. Or they might have mocked him. In either case, Brendan would have suffered. However, Brendan got total victory. All the rest of the students were on his side, and the bullies backed down. They probably would think twice before bothering brave Brendan again!
Ask students to do the Reflection Exercise: “Courageous as a Lion—Me!”.
Class Session 2
Ask students to review “Brendan and the Bullies” and do the Questions for Reflection.
Next, divide students up into small groups and ask them to come up with a role-play to depict someone showing courage in scenarios you will assign group-by-group and to be prepared to present it to the rest of the class. Enjoy!
1. Only one person in a small group is strongly against smoking. The other kids have a pack of cigarettes and are trying to urge him or her to try one. He or she resists.
2. Everyone is gossiping about someone who isn’t present. One person in the group is a good friend of the person they are gossiping about. He or she decides to speak up for the friend.
3. The principal is absolutely furious at a group of kids he thinks spray-painted a wall in the school. They are innocent, though. He tells them if they even say one word they will be suspended. They decide to tell him the truth anyway.
4. Myra shoplifted a soda from the local store. The store owner thinks Tilly did it, and he grabs Tilly by the collar and hauls her into his store, saying he is going to call the police. Other friends convince Myra to confess to what she did so that Tilly doesn’t get in trouble. Myra goes in to face the store owner.
5. The crowd is saying that anyone who gets good grades is a nerd and should be rejected. Someone asks Terry what he got on his report card. Terry got all As. He decides that he is proud of his accomplishment, not ashamed, and he tells the crowd what he got on his report card.